It is my belief that in every heart, there is that place that is untouched by the world, that is the light of God within everybody. I believe that we need to access that place moment by moment and to trust it so as to flourish. Maybe our hearts are like stone and maybe our hearts are as Jeremiah tells us, wicked and deceitful, but within every heart there is that place of life and nourishment (Jeremiah 17:8-18). We can listen to our hearts I believe and surely God will speak to us and overrule any deceit, just as he spoke to Abraham, stopping him from killing Isaac. I am going to start out angry but hopefully leave you joyful.
It’s important that we can trust in that voice within and recognise it, trust in the light that shines within each of us in the knowledge that God will intervene if needs be in many and diverse ways. Trusting in this voice is trusting in God as Creator, trusting in a God who is Love. He will speak to us through visions, speak to us through dreams, speak to us through scripture, nurtures us through practices of prayer, song and creating. It is God speaking to us directly. We are the ones who are to discern it and to hear it and to obey it. This is such an important message and it’s been so-so lost. The churches become like the places of accusation where you know the voices you’re hearing are not the voice of God because your heart is emptied by the words, crushed. I think that’s probably too much, but often it feels like the light that’s within, the moment you walk through the church door, is dimmed. And that’s sad.
On this word within we can build various practices that inform our hearts, striving to win the prize of communion with God. Our hearts will teach us which practices are good for us. For example, we might decide as Jesus followers to pray the Lord’s prayer or the Jesus prayer or just be silent. These things will inform our hearts. They will build in us truth. But the reality is that these practices are meaningless and can lead us astray if they’re not based firstly on the Word of God speaking into our hearts directly and directing us.
The danger is that churches stray into directing people, curating and deciding, to ensure that their people don’t end up with wrong things in their hearts, directing their minds. And if the love of God isn’t the basis of those things that are curated, the love of God that is steadfast, consensual, uncoerced and unconditional, the people start to doubt the voice of God and become church followers. The voice that they hear in their hearts directs them to things that are not of God, to a wide way of violence not the narrow way of Jesus. We as the Church need to allow people to fall and stumble and get things wrong so that they grow up. As all good parents we need to let go and not step in.
It’s so important I think that we listen to our hearts, listen to those people around us, listen to creation and we judge and we discern according to hearts broken by love. Read scripture and look for the Christ that tells us to love. From that we build faith. You can’t be a Jesus follower filled with the Spirit of God on your own. You can’t be a Christian without others if that is what you choose to call yourself. But you can make the word Christian into an adjective, describing your practices, describing whatever you do and keep people out. You will find that there are many practices that don’t have the word Christian attached to them that are Christ speaking. Open your minds. Open your ears.
Listen. Hear all who have ears. Let them who have ears hear. They who have ears, listen. In my list of things to do for the church, I assumed the Christian virtues of love, faith, and hope and that God is discerned by listening.
Listen now.
Jesus quotes the ancient prayer the Shama when questioned by teachers of the law about what to obey. He answers,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:38-39).
A rich young man was given the usual list of things to do by Jesus and a command.
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”(Matthew 19:19).
In Luke 10, neighbour is defined through the parable of the good Samaritan, an enemy not a brother.
Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.”
In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus has taught his followers to love their enemies. Just before his death and the last supper, Jesus says in John 13:34-35, he is giving his followers a new commandment, “…love one another as I have loved you. By this all people will know that you are my disciples.”
To sum up, Jesus tells us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your strength, and your mind. Love your neighbour as yourself. Love your enemies. Love one another.
In the scriptures, given to us so that we might know Jesus, Deuteronomy 6:45. Says, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” And in Leviticus 19:14, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the son of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord,” which is part of a section that begins, “You shall be Holy, for I, the Lord your God, am Holy.”
To understand the Hebrew words used in the Scripture, the Bible Project has put together a good series of videos ( https://bibleproject.com/videos/collections/shema/ ) which explains the nuances of our translations of hear, LORD, love, soul and strength and tell us that listen is the Hebrew word for obedience, there being no word for obey in Hebrew.
Chris Goddard has produced a podcast that speaks of love, Love God and do what you like . He focuses on the story of Therese of Lisieux, Colossians 3:14 and 1 Corinthians 13:1 where we are encouraged to wear love as a garment and taught the pre-eminence of love as a virtue without which all actions are empty making our actions like a noisy gong or a clanging symbol. As humanity we are commanded to listen and to love.
In a conversation about the podcast, I had after, I explored deeper which is why I have written the above to get to my main point. what is love in this preach. The word love clanged for us like another impossible thing to do.
Over the years, I’ve become used to being told what to do and so I was dismayed how this podcast landed. What do you mean I have to love? And to paraphrase, “..not another thing I have to do.”
Reciting the Shama as a morning and evening practice embedded in the very hearts of the people a framework for life. Loving God does the same I believe. This is what I think we have been called to.
We live in a universe of forgiveness. We are being called to a non-coercive relationship with the light that speaks unconditionally and consensually within each of us, which gives birth to affection and steadfast care for ourselves and others without distinction or favour. This light is the light of life and is wholly inclusive and brings us to truth and abundant life and I believe reveals God. The revelation of God’s love has no end, but we are subject to a capacity to muck up and to evil and are free to turn our backs on love. Our work is to believe in God and to forgive as we are forgiven, which in my faith, is found in the grace of God in Christ’s birth, death and resurrection.
In Philippians we hear the message, work on your own salvation for it is God who works in you. The source of our working is God. It also says I press on to make it my own, it being the prize of the heavenly call, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. So, it’s to a finished work in us, God calls. It’s grace. It’s from a finished work that the prize is gained to follow the light within.
I trust in the light within all people to bring the work of God to its fullness in everyone, not the schemes of people. Read scripture church. People, start trusting the hearts of the people and stop being so boring, inventing services and programs, but begin encouraging us to trust the work that God is doing in us in our everyday life.
Stop making faith an adjective for endless prayers, performing, programmes, buildings and books. Trust the people to hear God speak and give yourself a break. Come Join me around the table, on the streets, in families, at work and at play. Let’s talk together and sing together. Do good to all people! Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. As you are created be creative together
M Emlyn Humphries 